The Voyager lander proposed in
September 1966 for 1977-1979 landings on Mars was quite similar to
the Viking lander that would reach the Red Planet in 1976. Similar
elements included the tripod landing gear, large direct-link
high-gain antenna, smaller relay antenna, and radioisotope
thermoelectric generators. The 1966 design already had a boom soil
sampler and a television camera, but the scientific experiments would
need more definition for a biological mission. The plan across the
legs of the Voyager lander was nearly twice that of the Viking.
Proposed weight was about twice that of Viking. VPE-14 Project
Study.